12 days of Christmas winners for the LA Rams in a Week 16 win over the Jets

(5) - WR Jordan Whittington

When the LA Rams drafted former Texas rookie wide receiver on Day 3 of the 2024 NFL Draft, one of the most intriguing qualities of his draft profile was a willingness to get his hands dirty. That is, he often volunteered to take on less lauded roles in the offense, like blocking and decoy route runinning. The tasks were vital to the team's success, but do little to elevate a player in the eyes of fans and many NFL scouts.

But Rams scouts know the value of those roles and were eager to lobby the team executives to select Whittington. The team is very ingenious in the use of wide receivers in the offense. Unfortunately, the team's complex usage of the position can limit how quickly a rookie cracks the starting lineup. When the team struggled to keep receivers healthy early in the season, Whittington started two games.

Surprisingly, he has hauled in 18 of 23 passes for 201 yards this season. But offensive snaps dried up as soon as the team restored both Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua to the lineup. In response and in an effort to actively engage the promising rookie, the team assigned a kick returner role to Whittington in Week 9.

The team also tasked him with punt coverage:

Whittington has excelled in coverage, a vital role that has not been effectively filled since bring in puter Ethan Evans from Wingate in the 2023 NFL Draft. Now with a coverage player who can speed down the football field on pace with the punt, good things are bound to happen.

In Week 16, that is exactly what happened:

Jordan Whittington is willing to do whatever the coaches ask of him. And he is so physically gifted that he seems to excel at whatever the coaches task him. One fumble recovery sealed the win in Week 16. But I don't think his positive contributions end there.